Google Instant Search

After recent rumours, Google is today rolling out instant search. This means search results change as people type out their queries. Google dynamically displays results as you type and suggested or predictive search queries in the search bar, so you can hit enter at any time. You can also scroll through the dropdowns and see the results change. So what does this mean?

The most likely impact of these changes on search behaviour and site traffic:

  • Most likely minimal to traffic, people are more likely to change the search query anyway than go to page 2 of the SERP’s (Search Engine Result Pages) anyway, the process is now just more efficient and seamless
  • Makes extending or changing the search query to get higher relevance easier, and if you rank consistently for terms in a specific area (long tail and short tail), this will help people see you as an expert. People will see more results on average and need to see you in these results
  • Has the potential to provide opportunity. The more relevant you are to a query, or set of queries, the better the user experience and the higher the potential for conversion

The impact on SEO:

  • Nil
  • you will still need to rank for relevant queries
  • you will still need to be relevant for these queries
  • Ranking for both short tail + long tail or various combinations around a key term will be more important

The Bruce Clay methodology around siloing a website correctly is now even more important to site owners, as this supports combinations and longer tail terms and helps your site look like an expert when users are seeing multiple search queries on a single page.

See jbolt's author page for links to connect on social media.

Comments (1)
Filed under: SEO
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One Reply to “Google Instant Search”

Do you have a profile on facebook? I cannot seem to see BruceClay – Google Instant SEARCH on there and I would like to connect with you there. I like your writing style, thanks Sage Hendricks

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